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Clay part of the new mould of Wales Women

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Wales have used this autumn to lay the foundations for the future – starting with the 2018 Women’s Six Nations.

Wales have used this autumn to lay the foundations for the future – starting with the 2018 Women’s Six Nations.

In two games, the first a 39-22 win over the UK Armed Forces and the second a 22-15 defeat behind closed doors against Scotland, Rowland Phillips blooded 14 new players.

That sort of turnover is always going to take time to bed in, but luckily they have someone like Mel Clay to ease the process.

GAINING EXPERIENCE

The 27-year-old second row is in only her third season at international level – and knows very well how hard it can be for new faces to join.

“We have focused on this autumn, making sure that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet which will pay off down the line,” she said.

“But we will be targeting the Six Nations from now, we want to put in performances and the young girls coming through want to make their mark.

“We have to take it one step at a time, but having that extra competition helps a lot.

“I have gone from one of the new girls to being one of the more senior players very quickly, but I like helping them out.

“I know what they have been through, so I can help them. It can be lonely when you first come in but we want them to be confident and comfortable.

“You learn a lot yourself from giving advice I find, but while I appreciate these girls coming in and shaking things up, at the same time I want to make sure I am still the first choice.

“I do feel like I belong here now, I have laid down my marker and want to keep it.

“My understanding of the game has come on leaps and bounds.”

SECOND ROW COMPETITION

New faces like Lleucu George and Natalia John have brought some rivalry into the Welsh engine room.

And Clay – who was spotted at a Talent ID event back in 2015 after a few years playing for Barry RFC and Pencoed – is happy to pass on any wisdom she has gleaned.

“Having that fresh blood is great – it is a massive step up to come from regional rugby to international – and I should know!” she added.

“That first Six Nations, I had moved from being in the backs to being in the forwards.

“I didn’t know the first thing about a lineout so when someone asked me: ‘How do you jump?’, I didn’t know what to say! I just jump I suppose – you tell me how you want me to do it!

“But my first Six Nations was a great experience, the second one was not so successful, but then the last one I played every minute of every game.

“The Six Nations was great for me, but I wanted better results. Just being more involved was great and to build into a World Cup as well.

“The games against Ireland and France, they weren’t wins but they could have gone either way and to beat Ireland at home in a World Cup, that was a big test for us but we were up for it and now it is up to us to build on that.”

PREPARING FOR 2018

The 2018 Women’s Six Nations is now less than four months away for Phillips and the coaching staff.

This will be their second in charge – and while the first was frustrating with only a solitary victory – this time around the signs are good.

“We definitely want to build from the World Cup, that was a really positive experience for us,” added Clay – who has also played 7s for Wales.

“It didn’t go the way we had wanted in that Six Nations, so to be able to turn it around so quickly was a great success.

“And it was an amazing tournament to be a part of and we really enjoyed it.

“With a new coaching and management team that had only been in charge for a year at the time, with it being a first World Cup for a lot of the girls, it was an amazing experience.

“Our pool was hard  but we put in performances against every side, including some tough internationals.

“I was never really that into rugby as a kid, I was always sporty but never really good at any one thing. But rugby just took in the end – after a stop start beginning – I used to work on weekends.

“When I was 20 I quite my weekend job and got a full-time one. But I never dreamed of getting into the Welsh squad, so to have played as much as I have already is a bit of a dream come true.”